"Now with Kinetic 2, making beats has just gotten easier. Kinetic 2 has a new look and exciting new features that combine everything you need to build a track from start to finish. Just choose a musical style and then audition different sounds and professionally produced musical patterns in the Kinetic 2 browser. Once you find what you like, you can then layer patterns and sounds to start building the different sections of your song. Use DropZone to bring in your own samples and tap your computer keyboard like a drum machine using the GRID to create your own drum patterns and chords changes. Then add audio effects to your mix to sweeten the sound."

I've not used this software personally (mostly because I own more expensive solutions), but it looks promising for the budget minded. If you want to get a feel for this software, Cakewalk has produced an overview video - Click here for the Kinetic 2 Overview video [6.7 MB, right click "Save As"].

"Now with Kinetic 2, making beats has just gotten easier. Kinetic 2 has a new look and exciting new features that combine everything you need to build a track from start to finish. Just choose a musical style and then audition different sounds and professionally produced musical patterns in the Kinetic 2 browser. Once you find what you like, you can then layer patterns and sounds to start building the different sections of your song. Use DropZone to bring in your own samples and tap your computer keyboard like a drum machine using the GRID to create your own drum patterns and chords changes. Then add audio effects to your mix to sweeten the sound."

I've not used this software personally (mostly because I own more expensive solutions), but it looks promising for the budget minded. If you want to get a feel for this software, Cakewalk has produced an overview video - Click here for the Kinetic 2 Overview video [6.7 MB, right click "Save As"].